Ricin production suspect in murder of three young girls at Taylor Swift-themed event

Mourners left tributes to the victims of the Southport knife attack after young girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed event (pictured in August). The British teenager accused of murder now faces new charges for allegedly possessing terrorist training materials and producing the toxic poison ricin. File photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, now 18, is scheduled to appear virtually in court on Wednesday on new charges of producing the deadly toxin ricin and allegedly editing an al-Queda training manual entitled “Military Studies in Jihad against the Tyrants.”

“My request is to be patient. Do not engage in speculation about rumours,” Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said on Tuesday.

She said there was now a charge of producing “a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974,” according to Kennedy.

Rudakubana is currently facing three charges of murder, 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife. He will then appear at Liverpool Crown Court on November 13, followed by a criminal trial in January.

Rudakubana is the 17-year-old suspect charged in the fatal knife attacks on 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 6-year-old Bebe King and 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Britain's east coast city Southport, about 20 miles north of Liverpool.

“Don’t believe everything you read on social media,” the boss warned. “We must not lose sight of the families of Elsie, Bebe and Alice who are still grieving,” she added on Tuesday.

The knife attack happened on a Monday afternoon at a dance school. He also injured other children and two adults, some of them critically.

The tragic murders led to a series of riots across the UK and the spread of disinformation about Rudakubana, which ultimately led to more than 1,000 people being charged with various crimes across the country.

According to The Guardian, around 2,000 British police officers were on standby on Tuesday as a precautionary measure, waiting for new charges to be announced.

In the summer, the new Labor Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, described the violence after a vigil as a “hijacking” of the solemn event.

The local judge, meanwhile, decided to reveal the suspect's name “for the benefit of the public interest in full reporting of these proceedings,” Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said.

The unrest came after far-right protesters clashed with police over allegations of misinformation that a Muslim immigrant, not a British citizen, had been arrested over the attack.

Meanwhile, Merseyside's local police chief said the attack had not been officially classified as a “terrorist incident” and reiterated that Rudakubana was legally entitled to a fair trial.

However, the public was still warned against further speculation about a motive.

“I recognize that the new charges could lead to speculation,” Kennedy said Tuesday.

The matter for which Rudakubana was charged under Britain's 2006 Terrorism Act “does not require a determination of motive,” according to Kennedy. In order for a matter to be reported, she continued, “a terrorist incident must be established.”